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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · calf · root · rule · ruler · tear

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a word
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. root — of a plant
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. root — the cause
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rule — government
  18. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com